A Social Five

I spend a lot of time on social media - I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.  The problem these days with social media is that with everything happening in the world, it's become a bit of a downer.  I get it, people need to vent.  However, what was once a place for silly cat videos and fun jokes, has become a place for hard core news.  Good for civilization, bad for a happy few minutes of wasted time.  However, there are a few accounts sill out there that never fail to make me smile.  And these are it.  So if you need a smile, I'd suggest checking these lovely, creative, fun people out.

1. Daniela Ruah (@danielaruah) on Instagram - By day she's kick-butt NCIS agent Kensi Bly on NCIS: Los Angeles, and by night she's a mom who does fun things like yoga with her kids or create dalmatian costumes for her little ones.  She seems fun, and seems like someone I'd love to have lunch with.

2. David Lebovitz (@davidlebovitz) on Instagram - David is an American pastry chef who moved to Paris to work in food journalism and writing.  He has a blog and his books on sweets and Paris are fabulous.  His Instagram account is pretty much chock full of pictures of mouth watering food, and funny things that could only happen in Paris.

3. Lin Manuel Miranda on every form of social media - Honestly, he has got to be the most positive and lovely person in the entire world.  He's creative, and funny.  He's also a humanitarian who is constantly helping.  The entire world loves Lin right now, and I pretty much agree with them.  He's definitely a light in dark times, and his musings never fail to make me smile.

4. Any Supernatural based account on Twitter - including everyone who's been on the show, specific bloggers that write about the show, and charities that the show supports.  - For such a dark and scary show, everyone in this show is positive and kind and lovely.  Lots has been written about the fandom, so it's very public that these people are amazing.  I'm just reiterating this fact.  All you need to do is search for videos on YouTube of any of the Supernatural Conventions to see exactly how much these people care about each other and their fans.  They take so much of their own time to give back, and that love is felt throughout the fandom.  They are just a group of truly amazing people - that's pretty much all there is to say.

5. Travel sites on Instagram on places that I've been (Cornwall, Edinburgh, London, Austin, New York, Savannah) or places I want to go (New Mexico, Canada, Italy) - These sites are like a virtual vacation.  They make me remember my fabulous vacations there, or add lovely sites and restaurants to the list of places I want to go.  What's a better way to get away than dreaming of warming climates and trips to far off lands? 

A Weekend of Jennifers

In August I stopped writing because I was so angry and disheartened about the state of the world.  At that time, I realized I was constantly writing about all of the bad in the world, because that was really all there was to talk about.  In the last 8 weeks or so, things haven't gotten much better however I've realized there is still good things to talk about and there's still fun to be had.  That's what I'm going to try to focus on going forward, and try not to let the current administration bog me down too much.

So without further ado, I'm celebrating my weekend of Jennifers.  In 3 days I did fun things with 3 friends named Jennifer, and I enjoyed my time immensely  On Friday, there was a Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert which was as usual for them, awesome.  That show was shared with 2 friends named Jen.

Then last night, there was an amazing concert by Leslie Odom Jr.  This show marked the first for me at the Kennedy Center - which is a gorgeous venue, and was spent with yet another Jennifer.  We ate Mexican food and fell in love with Leslie's new version of The Room Where it Happened.  Honestly, he's so darn good!

Then today, with that same Jennifer we saw an interesting performance of Sondheim's Company which was new for us since we've never seen that show.  But at the moment, we still aren't sure exactly what happened because the sound was so bad.  So I'm going to go on record as saying I still haven't technically seen Company.  

All in all a pretty perfect weekend was spent.  These are the things that make me happy, and these are what I'm going to do my best to write about!

Bring on the happy!

Friday Five

1. I LOVE the fact that This is Us received so many Emmy nominations.  If it were up to me, everyone would have been nominated from that show.  However, it was good to see that 4 of the stars and 2 of the guest stars were nominated, and the show itself.  Now here's hoping they all win - even the guys nominated in the same category.  A tie could totally happen!

2. I know it's being burned off, but I really do enjoy the show Doubt.  The cast is awesome, and I'm pretty sure it would have done a little better with slightly better writing.  It's even got a pretty compelling storyline, that I'm hopeful we'll get to see the conclusion of.  

3. I'm fairly certain that the books on my nightstand have this conversation with my lamp each night.  Too funny!

Loving this #SummerReads cartoon from the ever-excellent @tomgauld pic.twitter.com/tf60ArWFGx

— Gutter Bookshop (@gutterbookshop) July 14, 2017

4. While I was in England, I fell in love with Ham4All.  These videos of people singing songs from Hamilton were our nightly fun.  After each day of seeing the sights, we'd come back to the hotel, and go on Twitter just to see who had posted what that day.  Such a fun and easy idea!  My personal favorite was Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

5. I'm loving scrapbooking my England photos.  In a Creative Bubble is my favorite designer and all of her fun designs are really making the book super simple and super adorable!  Now if my darn ink would just arrive from Amazon, I could finish printing my photos...

Friday Five

1. Since the show Waitress opened on Broadway, a friend and I have been trying to get tickets.  However, the price has always been just a bit too high and there have been other shows that have taken priority.  However, when we heard Sara Bareilles was taking over, we knew we had to bite the bullet and purchase. That finally happened tonight!  The second of my 4 trips this May, is finally set.  Of course, I was ok to wait until Betsy Wolfe took over in June, but I think my friend would have killed me if I waited any longer!

2. I happened upon this site after In a Creative Bubble mentioned using her stamps, and I'm so glad I did.  Every single stamp set she has is absolutely adorable!  Not to mention, she also has Hamilton!!!! stamps.  Seriously?  How perfect are they?!

3. After seeing the horrendousness of what Sean Spicer said during his Press Briefing on Tuesday regarding Syria and Hitler, I needed a serious laugh.  I mean, honestly - his entire job is to not say stupid things and he goes up to the podium and says that?  Anyway, this made me laugh - probably more than it should have.

Josh Lyman's secret plan to fight inflation doesn't look so bad now... pic.twitter.com/R9hya8B3r8

— Kristen (@ScrappyTravels) April 11, 2017

4. With the return of the original King George to Hamilton, this video along with the Coro-re-knee-tion of Brian made me so very happy.  Of course, I'd be much happier if I had tickets to see his return!

Thank you @HamiltonMusical Th King has returned. pic.twitter.com/hTiRhqh4Ch

— Taran Killam (@TaranKillam) April 14, 2017

            

5. Spending Good Friday in my usual way - not at work, shopping with my mama.  Great Friday indeed!

Super Bowl Sunday!

The Ravens are not in the Super Bowl this year, and the Patriots are.  Therefore I really don't care.  Except for maybe routing hard enough for Atlanta that they beat the Patriots by a whole bunch'a points!  However, I still find myself watching mostly because it's what you do on Super Bowl Sunday.

There are things to like though.  Food for one thing - I've eaten a yummy & giant bowl of homemade chili already.  And there's chips and dip and cake for later so at least there's that.  And of course there are the commercials.  Speaking of which, is this the first year that companies are releasing their ads before the big game?  Because I swear I've seen at least a dozen ads this week.

But what I'm the most excited about is the Schuyler Sisters from Hamilton are singing before the game.  Yay for the theater invading sports ball!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday and Go Falcons!

Friday Five: 2016 in Review

For the next 3 Fridays, I figured I'd write about my favorites in the year 2016. Today's post is on the top 5 shows I saw this year.  2016 is what I call, the year of theatre.  I was lucky enough to see 24 shows - not all on Broadway, but all were fabulous in their own ways.  It's definitely my record for a year, and one that I loved breaking!  Here's to beating that in 2017!

5. (Most Surprising) "School Of Rock": I totally didn't expect to love this show as much as I did.  It was the cheapest show that played on a Sunday night.  We needed to see something, since we had decided to not stand in line for Shakespeare in the Park.  I had seen the movie and thought it was cutesy and didn't really deserve a whole musical - scored by Andrew Lloyd Webber no less.  What I discovered was this show was awesome! I was blown away by the kids in the cast.  All of which played their own instruments, danced and sang perfectly.  The kids and the adults all sang the heck out of the super-fun rock and roll score.  It had a great message and some fabulous music - what's there not to like? I judge a musical by whether or not the music makes it onto my iPod and "Stick it to the Man" was most definitely downloaded when I got home, so it was definitely a hit in my book!

4. (Most Bizarre) "The Robber Bridegroom": I knew absolutely nothing about this show, other than I like Steven Pasquale and I wanted to see him sing.  Also, it was Off-Broadway which was new for me too.  I came away from this show being totally perplexed by the story in general, and never having laughed so hard in a theater in my life. It was uproariously funny!  This "southern fried fairy tale" was so, so, so weird.  (Just read the IMDB on the plot - I dare you not to think "huh?")  But what made the show completely awesome, was the cast that was having so much fun, that they broke on stage 2 separate times.  The show itself is very funny, but seeing the cast unable to make it through the funny parts - even funnier!  Based on my earlier scale - 3 songs made it to the iPod so it's definitely up there on my all-time faves list!

3. (Most Able to Turn me into a Blubbering Mess) "Falsettos":  Just as I've never laughed as hard as I did at "The Robber Bridegroom," I've never cried as hard as I did at "Falsettos."  Oh my goodness did I cry.  From about right after the curtain came up for Act 2 straight on through to the bitter end, I was crying while attempting to not disturb those around me.  It was bad.  But it was also so very good!  That cast - Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, Stephanie J. Block, Brandon Uranowitz, Anthony Rosenthal, Tracie Thoms and Betsey Wolfe - every single one of them was perfectly cast for their part.  I once again went in knowing not much - other than the inevitable was going to happen and make me cry - but I walked out just blown away by a cast that can get that emotional every night, and then smile and laugh at curtain call.  The songs were beautiful.  The relationships were beautiful. And most of all the message - family is what you make it - was beautiful and so needed!  The soundtrack isn't out yet, so I can't tell you how many songs are on my iPod, however I already have the iTunes cash earmarked for the whole kit and caboodle.

2. (Most Obvious and Groundbreaking) "Hamilton": What can I say about it that hasn't already been said?  It is as good - maybe better - than everyone says.  What I loved most about it is that it's entirely new.  From the set design, to the musical styles, to the cast and the choreography.  All of it could have been a mess, but all of it works together to create something that's just gorgeous.  Seeing it with an audience that loved it as much as I did, was so energizing.  I knew exactly what would happen at the end, and it's never made me cry before. But I think just feeling that energy from the cast and the audience, I admit to tearing up a bit and getting major goosebumps!  Number of songs on the iPod - the whole darn album!

*Bet you thought Hamilton would be number one, didn't you? : )

1. (Most Able to Make me Smile Uncontrollably) "Come From Away": Not since "Jesus Christ Superstar" opened my eyes to how amazing musical theatre is, have I been more in love with a single show.  I've been talking, googling, watching, singing, and stalking this gorgeous show since I saw it in September.  I honestly can't get enough of it and the all together lovely cast. When I first heard about the 9/11 musical - I was completely against it.  Too soon, I thought.  Then I heard the storyline - 5 days in Gander when the US airspace was closed that day - and I thought, ok that's a bit better.  Then I saw it at Ford's (another theatre first for me!) and I fell in love.  I laughed.  I smiled from ear to ear.  I got goosebumps.  I teared up.  As the kids say, I felt all the feels! It is by far, the happiest show I had ever seen.  The message of acceptance, and love and kindness needs to be repeated over and over in today's world.  And a show devoted to singing that message 8 days a week - Perfection!  

The music is sort of Celtic-rock which works perfectly for the setting of New Foundland.  It's played by an on stage band instead of an orchestra which also makes it feel more intimate and more like a bunch of people hanging out in a bar on a Friday night.  And the cast!  Each cast member plays about a dozen characters each - going in and out of different nationalities or accents constantly - and they do it perfectly.  They're all perfectly suited to their particular parts and they honestly look like they're having the best time.  I'm sure some shows like Falsettos are rough each night, but these actors get to spread the word of kindness every night and smile and laugh the entire show, and I can only imagine - based on what I've seen - they're loving it!  Almost as much as I love them!

Number of songs on the iPod - Nothing, as it hasn't even opened on Broadway yet, but just like Falsettos - the iTunes money is already earmarked.  Now if you're basing it on my YouTube browsing history - that's chock full of every single video I can find!

Thomas Jefferson is Kind of a Jerk

I use this photo from the documentary because Chris Jackson is my favorite!

Last week PBS finally aired the Making of Hamilton documentary that they've been teasing us with for the last 8 months or so.  And as you can imagine it was a big hit with all the fans of Hamilton.  I was pretty excited to see it because it was about Hamilton, but I wasn't sure it was going to be super exciting.  I rarely like documentaries.  I prefer fake life stories to real ones.  Anyway, like I said after it aired - oh how I was wrong!  The show was fabulous.

Rather than just focus on the story of how Lin Manuel-Miranda wrote the show, they also focused on Hamilton's life and how the leads feel about playing these characters in today's world.  That's the part that really got to me.  After last week's initial viewing, I've been re-watching parts here and there (BTW - you can stream the whole thing online for free, just so you know...), and the interviews with Chris Jackson and Daveed Diggs specifically have really grabbed me.

Jackson plays George Washington and Diggs plays Thomas Jefferson.  As black men playing these old stuffy white guys, they have a lot of feelings about how the characters are portrayed and how they feel being the new face of these founding fathers.  Both actors mentioned that for all the good these titans did for the new United States, Washington and Jefferson owned slaves.  Their message was that not every good person is good all the time.  

Daveed Diggs went on to say that this helped him to realize that just because you hate something a person has done, doesn't mean you can't like something else that same person has done.  Everyone can agree that owning slaves was a hateful thing to do, however without the work Washington and Jefferson did, we wouldn't have the USA we have today. 

I really liked that perspective that these gentleman had.  To see just a little bit of the thinking that went into their flawless portrayals of these characters was really neat to see.  It's also nice to see a cast - everyone in this cast it would seem - that is intelligent and literate and kind and understanding of the responsibilities they've been given.  That doesn't happen very often these days.

I thought it might be hard to find something else to like about this production and these people, but here they've gone and given me something else.  Thanks Hamilton for changing the world again!  We really needed your optimism and creativity this year! 

Friday Five

1. The Hamilton Documentary that I just watched was probably one of the best 1.5 hours of television I've ever seen!  I may be a bit biased since it was about Hamilton, but honestly it was just so very good.  The writers and actors and even some officials spoke about the show but they also spoke about Hamilton's life and his contributions to the current world.  It was fascinating and pretty much the perfect way to spend a Friday night!

2. In a word - AMAZING! 
          
3. What better way to learn about the delicious food in Baltimore restaurants than from the Orioles and the Ravens.  I just love the way these guys talk about the food and what's good to them.  My favorite is Brandon Williams' PB&J.  He's a guy that takes his sandwich seriously it would seem!

4. In just over a month, we'll finally be treated to the new Gilmore Girls season on Netflix. How is anyone staying calm?  I personally cannot wait and these posters are doing just feeding the excitement!  I love the Year in the Life concept and the 4 seasons theme for the posters is just adorable!

5. And in fairly shallow news this week, I've decided that after watching Matt Bomer guest host Live with Kelly, I totally miss seeing his adorable self every week on my television. Seriously, how dreamy is he?

            

Hump Day

I have been wracking my brain for the last hour trying to think of something to say and I've come up with nothing.  This day just wasn't all that exciting.  I have lovely things to say tomorrow and Friday, but today there's just not much to talk about.

I mean, I could talk about Brangelina breaking up (Team Jennifer all the way!) but honestly every single news site is covering that whole sad story pretty thoroughly so there's not much to add.  

I could talk about how I loved the season premiere of NCIS much more than I thought I would and actually didn't miss Dinozzo as much as I assumed I would.  I also didn't really enjoy Bull with Dinozzo (aka Michael Weatherly) completely.  I'm fairly sure it will get better because George Washington (aka Chris Jackson) is in it too, so you really can't go wrong. But that's not interesting at all because who really cares about my love for all things NCIS, Hamilton and Michael Weatherly?

I could talk about how I received an email from someone today asking me if I'd write an email for her because she was much too busy to do it herself.  But apparently she wasn't too busy to write the initial email to me.  That's nothing but darn annoying - not interesting in the least.

Or at the very least, I could talk about how a woman at work has lent me a series of Nora Roberts books about something Irish and Mystical, and I really don't want to read them at all.  However I feel bad because she loved them so much and I'm assuming she's going to want to talk about them so I'm going to try to read them - even though I have a stockpile of 12 books on my shelf right now that I actually want to read instead.  But really that's also not at all that interesting - just par for the course when it comes to me.

So you see, today was just a normal hump day where nothing at all happened...

Hamilton Day

About a year ago, I started hearing about Hamilton.  When it was off-Broadway at the Public, lots of people I follow started talking about how revolutionary the show was.  At the time all I knew was that it was a rap show about the country's first head of Treasury.  That right there, that wasn't for me.  About 3 months after that it had moved to Broadway and I couldn't resist anymore. Everyone who was everyone was talking about it, so I decided that as a good Broadway fan, I'd need to get tickets. 

And I did - for 10 months later.  I'm fairy certain this was the first time I'd purchased tickets in November for a show in September of the following year.  Needless to say - with all the press and amazingness surrounding Hamilton - it was a very long 10 months. I did my very best to resist listening to any of the music - except for the 2-3 songs that were always played on talk shows and award shows.  But someone who got to see the show before me, suggested that I listen to it before seeing it because, as she said, I don't have the ear for rap (she's very right about that!) and it's hard to understand exactly what's happening upon first hearing. 

I'm so very happy that I listened to her because I've pretty much listened to nothing else for the last 4 months. (This super white girl still hasn't mastered the fine art of rapping along, however that doesn't stop me from trying...)  The music was amazing!  I know it took Lin Manuel Miranda 6 years to write this masterpiece, but I'm still blown away by his ability to create this show and this music and nail every one of the songs - there's not one that isn't perfect for its moment in the show. 

So that brings us to yesterday - THE day that I'd been waiting for.  By now everyone has left - there are a few originals - but for the most part the cast looks very different than it did from last year.  I've been really worried about that. My Christopher Jackson was still going to be there (Love him!) and Javier Munoz (who BTWs, is very much the sexy Hamilton that everyone says he is : ) was Lin's understudy so I was super excited to see him as well. But would it still hold up without the original cast that I'd fallen in love with via iTunes for the last 4 months?

The short answer to that question - YES, YES, YES!!!

I'm not sure what to say that hasn't been already said, but in those 3 hours I was completely blown away.  The cast was unbelievable.  The choreography and dancing was completely new and innovative and just plain cool.  And the show itself was just downright gorgeous.  I don't think I have enough adjectives in my repertoire to explain to you just how good this show is.  
About half way through, I realized the fact that the original cast wasn't there anymore, didn't really matter.  Don't get me wrong - I would have loved to have seen Lin, and Leslie and Phillippa and Renee and Daveed.  But the cast I saw was just remarkable.  The producers completely understand the roles and have cast absolutely outstanding artists in place of the original cast and these artists have the same ability to hold the audience in their hands. I think that's why the show will do so well in a touring environment - there are some seriously talented people around, and they will knock'em dead.

My absolute favorite parts:

~ The 2 lazy susans on the stage that allow the actors to rotate around each other.  Amazing!

~ Christopher Jackson - I can't help it, I know it's about Hamilton but George Washington is my favorite!

~ Rory O'Malley is killing it as King George.  I read that he was amazing in the part, but I couldn't understand how he could be so phemomenal in just 3 songs.  I will gladly say that he was.  He added so much to those 3 songs and was the absolute perfect comic relief. 

~ Yorktown (The World turned Upside Down) - My favorite song and seeing it live gave me goosebumps.  I loved that the audience gave the cast the biggest ovation after this one song.  The imagery of the World turning Upside Down is beautiful!

As I said on Twitter last night - I'm super sad that it's over, but I'm oh so happy that it happened.  And I'm certain, as soon as getting tickets again is humanly possible, I'll be there, first in line at Ticketmaster.  Also the touring cast is coming to DC in 2018, so at least there's that...

Thanks Hamilton!  You held up and surpassed every single expectation I had!

Hamilton Day

This photo pretty much sums up how we felt before, during and after seeing Hamilton.  So many feelings.  So many thoughts.  So much to say - tomorrow.  Because after a 3 hours bus ride with no AC, even a girl hopped up on Good-Hamilton-Mojo needs a shower and her bed!

Friday Five

1. Love, Love, Love Cigna's new ad! So cute!

               

2. Is it too early to start asking for Christmas gifts?  Because if it isn't, this Tardis watch is so totally on my list.  

3. A pet peeve of mine is when people say that a specific breed of dog - like Pit Bulls or Rotweillers - are evil or dangerous.  Like every single one of these dogs are just ticking time bombs waiting to go off.  It's ridiculous.  And these adorable photos prove it!

4. As I write this, I'm sitting here watching Stand Up To Cancer.  What an incredible movement for an umbelievably good cause.  Science has done so much and by raising funds for to let these researchers work, is so very, very needed.  We can be the ones to end this horrible disease if we can just get a little more involved with the movement.

5. I'm a huge fan of the fact that in 17 hours I'll FINALLY be seeing Hamilton!  So darn excited!!!!!

Life Lately

Singing: The Hamilton cast album is on a constant loop in my head pretty much every day. It's just so good!

Photographing: I'm on this kick where I take lots of artsy photos of my bedazzled toes on pretty floors.  It's really ridiculous, but sometimes you just need an artsy photo of your feet. 

Wearing: Loads of dresses to beat the heat.  It's been super hot here - so hot that I've even been uncomfortable.  Outside that is, inside it's the temperature of Antarctica.

Loving: A lovely dinner out with my dad enjoying some yummy Mexican food.  Great food and even better company!

Planning: There is always a trip planned in my head, though I'm fairly stuck on a big Europe adventure for next summer.

Crafting and Creating: At this point it's just plans, but I do have a fair amount of Christmas tackled in my head.  I just need to get the ingredients for the gifts and get making.

Eating: Eastern Shore peaches that are so HUGE and so juicy that I'll still be dreaming of them come January.  I love summer fruit!

Watching: I hate myself a little but I've somehow gotten hooked on Brain Dead - I'm fairly sure it has something to do with Aaron Tveit and Danny Pino.  So, so, - and I can't say this enough - weird.

Reading: Jenny Colgan's entire canon.  Only one left - guess Book Depository will be getting more of my money soon.

Counting down the days to: September 10 when I will finally see Hamilton in person!

Pondering: Does Trump actually want to be President or does he just say the most insane things possible so he won't be elected?

Summer in the City

As always I love NYC.  However, I must say that even NYC looks a little different in the sweltering summer heat.  Holy moly, that heat doesn't mess around!  But all is well, we still managed to have a fun time.  First up was lunch at Sullivan Street Bakery in Hells Kitchen where we learned that the Hells Kitchen location has only cold sandwiches and only a bench outside for sitting.

Then it was back to midtown for Ham4Ham, with Jesse Tyler Ferguson! Love him!  Would have loved him more if I could have heard a word he said - also if we had won tickets.  Then it was over to TKTS to try to find tickets to see something else.  Since Waitress tickets were unattainable, An American in Paris it was. (Fabulous!)

After the show it was off to Dafni's Greek Taverna for so-so Greek food.  Then it was time to take the long bus ride home.  Another whirl-wind day in the city that never sleeps!

 It may not look like the ginger you know and love, but I swear this is Jesse Tyler Ferguson!

Friday Five

1. If he hadn't been adopted so quickly and he didn't reside across the country, I would have totally decided to adopt this little guy and his big attitude.  Is he not the cutest dog ever?! I love him and his name!

2. As stated yesterday, I'm over the moon that Phil Mickelson is playing so well in Scotland. He's been on fire these last 2 rounds.  I only hope he can keep it together through Sunday and take home the win.  I'm also fairly in love with the fact that there's a whole article on why he's wearing a binder clip on his hat.  I suppose it was a slow news day at Golf.com.

3. In the travel category this week, this definitely falls into the #Goals column.  A list of the best NYC ice cream?  Yes, please!!!

4. One of my pet peeves is drinking non-icy cold water.  I hate water or any drink that isn't super cold.  Because of this, I've recently fallen in love with my (stolen from my mother) HydroFlask.  I've been chatting this thing up so much, they should start paying me royalties. It will keep cold drinks cold for 24 hours (mine has kept ice for over 24 hours - I tested it!) and hot stuff hot for up to 6 hours.  And it comes in pretty colors too!  I can't wait for my pretty plum one to come in the mail!

5. I was understandably upset when I heard I wouldn't be seeing Lin Manuel Miranda in Hamilton come October.  However, I was quite happy to hear that Javier Munoz would be replacing him.  He's been his standby for the entire run and has a history with the show already.  He most definitely deserves the role and I can't wait to see him in a few short months.  But after learning all of what he's overcome, I'm even more excited to see him get his chance to shine.  He seems like a truly wonderful and genuine human being!

The Story of Tonight

Tonight's the night that Hamilton fans have been dreading.  Lin, Leslie and Phillipa (Hamilton, Burr & Eliza) are performing there last show as leads.  Unfortunately, that means I won't get to see any of their amazing performances when I finally see Hamilton in 2 months time.  While I still envy everyone who had the chance to see them, I'm not nearly as upset as I thought I'd be.

First of all they chose Lin's stand-by, Javier Munoz to take his place.  That means an actor that's been a part of Hamilton for the last 2 years will continue to be a part, now just a bigger part of the phenomenon.  The best part is that I've heard that "Javilton" (his nickname) is all sorts of wonderful in the starring role. As for the other roles, they've chose real theater actors that have witnessed the madness of Hamilton first hand and I'm sure will continue to foster the show's success.  They went for quality and diversity not just a name - that's one of my favorite things about the show!

And second of all, witnessing the love and respect these actors have for the show, the fans and their castmates has made us all see that they'll never be truly "gone" from Hamilton.  They'll always be a part of this huge Hamilton movement.  If you want to witness some of the love first hand,  just look at their Twitter feeds for today.  Every one of them has been sending heartfelt messages of love and respect to each other.  And you get the feeling than none of them actually want to leave now that it's time. 

Their presence will be felt always and I'm sure the 3 will go on to do many more fabulous things.  I personally can't wait to see where they land next!  

Friday Five

1. Last weekend I pretty much did nothing but read.  I was in love with the 2 Jenny Colgan books I had and just couldn't put them down.  If you're a lover of England and puffins I'd definitely suggest reading "The Little Beach Street Bakery" & "Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery."  I shouldn't have been surprised these were so good, since I haven't disliked a book she's written yet.

2. Though I haven't seen Hamilton yet, I have been rocking out to the soundtrack.  And one storyline that has made me wonder was the life of Hercules Mulligan.  In the show he's a tailor who spies on the British for the Americans and helps a great deal in the battle of Yorktown.  I had never heard the name before so I wasn't sure he was real.  As it turns out, as the CIA shared in a whole blog post this week, he's very real and he really was one of the US's first spies.  Considering what he accomplished you'd think we'd learn more about him in school!

3. After an incredibly difficult week here in the United States, it's good to see so many people choosing love instead of violence.  "Love is Louder"

4. Unfortunately, Royal Pains signed off for good this week.  While I will admit it's a fairly corny show, it definitely had its moments.  And even though the finale wasn't perfect - it wasn't even splashy - everything was tied up in a neat little bow which made fans happy. However, I'm still holding out hope that we'll get an Evan/Paige or just Jeremiah spin off. I'd totallly be down to watch these 3 characters for a very long time.  They're the ones I'm going to miss!  (Though, now that Royal Pains is gone, Suits can start and that definitely makes me happy!)

5. I think everyone could use a laugh this week, and for some reason (even more than when I watched it the first time) this made me laugh out loud.  HA! (For the record, that's exactly how I feel about eating meat - Yum!)

#TagTheTim of your family https://t.co/pQsHXgjdp1 #LifeInPieces @bakkedahl @betsy_brandt pic.twitter.com/b7RXIZ49p9

— Life In Pieces (@LifeInPiecesCBS) July 8, 2016

#SorryNotSorry, vegetarians… https://t.co/X9G4vFCAqE #LifeInPieces @gisellezenberg pic.twitter.com/FrOdcPmiFI

— Life In Pieces (@LifeInPiecesCBS) July 8, 2016

Three for Three

Today is a day that I have 3 things that I'm gushing about and have posts running through my head about all 3.  Granted, one is much more important and serious than the other 2 but all 3 are quite post-worthy on their own.  So I've decided to just write about all 3.  I'm sure you're super excited...

~ We'll get the most important one out of the way first.  At this very moment, a group of Democratic congressmen and women are staging a sit in to force a vote on gun control.  I'm astonished by this simple act of rebellion on their part.  It's powerful and hopefully it'll be useful to call members to action.  I'm equally astonished (in the other direction) that not only has Paul Ryan blocked the cameras from recording it, but he's also asking his followers to retweet a message claiming the sit in is a "stunt."  When did politicians get so slimy and unprofessional?  They're using Twitter now as a way to disagree on matters of legislation? Disgusting!  I'm very much in favor of gun control and back these members 150% in what they're trying to do.  #NoBillNoBreak

~ Ok, now that the important stuff is out of the way, I can gush a bit.  First in the gushing category is Hamilton, mostly because I: A. Haven't gushed about it in a while and B. Work with boys who could care less about anything theater related and they roll their eyes when I try to gush at work.  So even though I fangirl a lot about Hamilton (as does everyone else on God's green earth) I've been attempting to avoid the music.  I know a few of the more famous songs that they use for news stories and things, but I had never listened to the album all the way through.  I wanted to be surprised when I finally got to see it in September.  But due to some cajoling, I decided to give it a listen.  And now (expectedly) I'm hooked.  It is as good as everyone says it is, it might even be better.  Every line, every note, every intonation is perfect. I can't even imagine the amount of energy that Lin Manuel Miranda spent writing this masterpiece.  He really and truly does deserve every bit of credit he receives.  Also, it's hard not to love a guy that does this...

We snuck Tveit in &out thanks to our good friends at @LesMizBway next door & caught this along the way... pic.twitter.com/HPQyXseOfT

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) June 22, 2016

While still managing to film live #Ham4Ham's like this one every single Wednesday (on top of the 532 other things he's doing currently.) 


~ Last gush of the day belongs to the amazing and heart breaking final episode of Person of Interest.  I will admit to not understanding every single thing that happened in the show over the last 5 years, but I have loved all the characters and the writing, oh so much. It was so groundbreaking when it came out, and it was one of the only shows that really kept me on the edge of my seat from week to week. To see it go was pretty sad.  But, I'm so glad they were able to get a final run to tie up all the loose-ends.  And while my favorite, (Spoiler Alert!) John didn't make it out alive, he died rescuing his friends, who all survived to fight another day, even Bear their adorable canine mascot/6th member of the team.  All of that makes me hopeful that one day in the near future, we'll get a re-boot and get to see what the team's been up to a few years from now. (And if that reboot could possibly be a prequel so we could see John and Root again, that would be fabulous...)

Friday Five

1. Among all the fabulous Hamilton news this week (Phillipa Soo is going to star in Amelie, the documentary is out in October, the original cast is filming the show!!!), the best news of the week was that when Lin Manuel Miranda leaves in July, his standby, the lovely Javier Munoz will be taking over the role.  Since I knew Lin would be leaving before I got to see it, this is the best possible outcome.  I can't wait to see "#Javilton"!

2. When I finally find Prince Charming, this will be the way we tell our friends and family we're having a little prince or princess.  This is by far the cutest birth announcement I've ever seen!

3. There has been some really fantastic reporting and commenting on the Orlando disaster over the last week.  Even the late night hosts have had some really insightful and kind things to say about where we are and where the US needs to be.  But my favorite quote came from Seth Myers in the wake of Donald Trump's insensitive tweet regarding the congratulations he's receiving for being right about the radicals.  Seth Myer's said:

"I'm not sure who the congratulations are coming from but maybe you should save them for the first responders and those lining up to give blood."

4. Seeing as the Tony awards were just so wonderfully wonderful, can you blame me for wanting more?  I mean, this awesome video of Sean Hayes, James Corden and Jake Gylenhaal singing a song from Aladdin is pretty amazing.  But where in the world are the other videos of all the other commercial break karaoke performances?  I need these to show up on YouTube, post haste!  Get on this theater gods!

5.  Yet another Disney animated movie to get excited about!  Though, it's up in the air if it will be better than Finding Dory (which while I haven't seen, can't be anything but perfect!) 

Tony Awards Live!

Some people go crazy for the Emmys, while others go gaga for the grammys.  Meanwhile, I'm a Tony's girl.  It's like a national holiday.  So tonight, I'm trying something different and live-blogging my thoughts - as well as I can while fan-girling, that is.

~ The opening speech about last night's heartbreaking news out of Orlando, was pitch perfect.  I thought they may pre-empt the ceremony in honor of the victims, but I agree with going on.  The theatre community has always been about diversity and spending the evening showing what diversity can accomplish and celebrating it, is a perfect response to the hateful act. #HateWillNeverWin

~ I LOVE LOVE LOVE the opening act.  James Corden is now my most favorite host ever.  The songs, the cutest little boy ever, the love and inclusion message - every single thing was perfect!

~ "Welcome to the Tonys, which are sort of like the Oscars but with diversity!" and "There's so much diversity here tonight that Donald Trump is thinking of building a wall around the theatre tonight." HAHAHA! 

~ Jane Krakowski, and Renee Elise Goldsberry's dresses are gorgeous!

~ The live Ham4Ham outside the Beacon is genius!

~ Ok, Audra McDonald's dress is my new favorite.

~ Love Renee Elise Goldsberry, but Jane Krakowski was amazing in She Loves Me!  She deserved the award for the splits she does, alone. (Hamilton award count: 1)  However, the fact that the cast of Hamilton is crying because she Renee won, is very very sweet.

~ Audra McDonald is pregnant, belting and tap dancing - clearly she's super woman!

~ I had no desire to see School of Rock before tonight, but now I'm thinking it might need to happen.

~ Titus Andromedon (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) auditioning for Hamilton was awesome! This would be me if ever I got enough guts to audition for anything.

~ Daniel Dae Kim is just as dreamy in a tux as he was yesterday in his Kingly duds in The King & I.

~ ~ Hamilton Award Count: 3 (though I was hoping for a 3 way tie between Groff, Diggs and Jackson)

~ Do any of the nominees up against Hamilton actually think they might win?  

~ Lin! getting a standing O from his family - too cute!  He wrote a sonnet for his acceptance speech because of course he did.  I just want to have dinner with him and have a little of genius wear off on me. (Hamilton award count: 4) "Fill the world with music, love and pride!" Yes!!!

~ The set design for She Loves Me looks just as beautiful digitally created as it does for real on the stage at Studio 54. Seriously, how does she do a split like that?! Where can I get a pair of pj's like that?  Too cute!

~ I still have NO idea how Jesse Tyler Ferguson wasn't nominated for Fully Committed.  Memorizing 40 different characters and performing them in 90 minutes is a feat of super-human talent.

~ Not the Humans!?  That's a big upset!

~ Hamilton Award Count: 5 (Yay Tommy Kail and fabulous speech!)

~ To Life! L'chaim! - Ha! Josh Groban in Fiddler - so fantastic!  His reaction was priceless!  "Oh, that just happened on the Tony's" Yay, arts education!

~ In the words of Something Rotten! - "Who is this fiddler and why is on the roof?"

~ After a little more than an hour, I'm ready to announce that this may be my most favorite Tony award broadcast ever!

~ Who stole Neil Patrick's Harris's hair?

~ I'm adding the female accountant's dress to my list of faves.  The orange is beautiful!

~ Yay Andrew Rannells!  He'll hopefully be nominated for Falsettos next year.

~ If I could be sure I wouldn't cry, I'd really want to see The Humans.  

~ How does one decide to take up the Banjo?  Not that he's not fab at it, but it's just so odd to see Steve Martin playing it. "To be on Broadway you have to study and work really hard, or you can do what I did, and already be famous." Ha!

~ The Moana trailer is out!  Woohoo!

~ The Law and Order bit is fantastic - since L&O is one of the few shows that shoots in NYC, most of Broadway has been in it.  

~ Hamilton Award Count: 7 (I'm feeling bad for the set designer who is the only HamFam that hasn't won yet.  Do you think he'll be voted off the island since he lost?

~ Still not really into seeing The Color Purple but Cynthia Errivo has an absolutely gorgeous voice!  Much deserved standing O!

~ Nathan Lane!  It wouldn't be Tony's night without him. "Winning means everything, is the first lesson I learned at Trump University." Ha!

~ Emilio Estefan is the sweetest. Yay Gloria!!  You go girl!  The woman playing her in the show looks and sounds just like her - that casting director is fabulous at his/her job!

~ Carpool Karaoke!!!  This has me grinning from ear to ear! Even if some of it is a repeat, I'm in love!  I just want to be a fly on the windshield of this car.  I have this idea in my head that Lin looks like this on a daily basis in his own car.

~ Sad Jeff Daniels lost to Frank Langella.  From what I hear, he's a powerhouse in Blackbird.  However, he just gave a beautiful speech.

~ The Oscars couldn't even see fit to include more than one race in their nominations and telecast, but the Tony's are not only including all races, genders, sexual orientation, but also disabilities as well.  This version of Spring Awakening looks so amazing!

~ Hamilton doing Rent!!  Oh my god! Way to make me cry.  Such a gorgeous sentiment for today!

~ I love how CBS has decided to Broadway-ify all of their commercials for the evening...

~ I'm not sure how I feel about all of these awards being given off stage. I mean I love having time for the performances but these artists deserve their moment in the sun as well.

~ Why is the music playing so loudly over Diane Lane's speech?

~ Blair Underwood is dreamy.  That is all.

~ The woman that just won the special award missed her chance to give a kiss to Blair Underwood - she's gonna regret that tomorrow.

~ Why is James Corden wearing that awful suit?

~ Who better to intro Hamilton than Hamilton's number one fan boy and girl - President and Mrs. Obama.  So great!  

~ Hamilton - here we go!  Moment of silence for awesomeness!  How in the world did that not warrant a standing O? So, So, So Brilliant!  Such a great song choice too.  They were able to include everyone in the cast.  

~ Christian Borle is my fave!  He is also dreamy but is not wearing a ribbon.  Really Christian?

~ Yay Humans!  Eli's daughter from the Good Wife is in it which is admittedly the only reason I wanted it to win.

~The crazy red suit is now gone.  Will we ever know why he was wearing it?

~ James Corden's parents are adorable.

~ Ok, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and spend the money.  Waitress looks great!  I wonder how not so fun it is to wear a pregnant belly for a whole show?

~ I'm seeing ads this evening for independent movies I've never heard of before.  Is that an assumption that since we like theatre we'll like them?  

~ Hamilton Award Count: 9 (they can only tie The Producers not break the record)

~ Andrew Rannells in The Book of Moron, Glenn Close in A Clinton Line - HAHAHA!

~ Go Bebe Neuwirth!  Yet another show I've never seen live.  I'm going to have to fix this.

~ Sad to see She Loves Me lose out to the Color Purple.  She Loves Me was fabulous!

~ Oh my goodness, Seasons of Love for the In Memoriam segment?  Perfection!

~ HOLY COW!!!  The fact that Leslie won instead of Lin is HUGE!!!  His speech is so uplifting.  This cast is like a set of the most amazing people on the planet.  

~ Second shock of the night, no Phillipa Soo.  Yay Cynthia though!

~ Wow, that sparkly green jacket James is wearing is a lotta look.

~ I just don't get the Streisand thing.  She's cool, but really a standing O for just walking on the stage?

~ Why does Streisand's outfit look like it was taken from the cast of Hamilton?

~ Surprising almost no one - Yay Hamilton!  Though, I'm still not sure she actually opened the envelope before announcing the win...Why is the cast not on the stage too?   Lin's on verge of tears face is my favorite.  I swear that's his natural state. "Look around, look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now." Awesome!

~ And Hamilton to close the show!  Awesome! Yay Schuyler sisters!  The perfect ending to a perfect show!

And so ends one of the greatest Tony telecasts ever.  Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!